Filing cabinet



5. E. MOOR FILING CABINET March 18. 19

/ ofS Sheet Filed May 2 1967 6 3 4V 4 a 4 w m M L m. r Q1 ,2 m5 5. A m 4 E 0 MW. h Z 0 W 4 a /O,/ B a M. l 7 g. 2 w 7 S. M ql L 1 4 March 18, 1969 .G. E. MOORE FILING CABINET Sheet Filed May 25, 1967 a L f h NM vmv 0m wz ibiwwiwm m m 1 h J- a W5 A mm D ,l\ 18 p\ G mm wm wm m Mr L. 1 1 AN? March 18,1969 EMooRE 3,433,548

FILING CABINET i Filed May 25, 1967 Sheet 3 'of s 68b 25 j ,4; 2 B YINVENTIOR.

I 1 Gears: 4;. M00

United States Patent O Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The file drawer is mounted on a slide extension for rolling in and out of a casing. The drawer has the top and one side open. The other side has a wall. Removable partitions fit in the bottom and side wall. The file can be set at or above eye level and papers may be easily inserted or removed through the open side.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The conventional four or five drawer files for storage of papers usually have an unused space above the filing cabinets. Present filing cabinets are awkward to use at such a high level. In order to file papers it is necessary to stand on a ladder or chair and the arrangement of the files can only be viewed from standing on a ladder or chair. This is inconvenient on inserting and removing files or checking on the files. In order to overcome these shortcomings the side of the drawer is open. This renders the file accessible from the top and side.

An object of the invention is to provide a file cabinet that has a roller suspended drawer open on the side.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the file unit with the drawer fully extended.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the file unit with the drawer closed and taken along lines 22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the file unit taken along lines 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the cabinet taken lines 44 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is an inner side view of the extended slide support member viewed in the direction indicated by arrows 55 in FIG. 3 with the drawer removed.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the drawer.

along DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to FIG. 1 the file unit comprises a casing 10 and a drawer 11. The casing holds a single drawer. The drawer 11 is mounted in the casing in a manner later described herein, and comprises a single piece generally Z-shaped member 12 (FIG. 3), a downwardly extending side wall 13, a rear wall 14 and a front wall 15. The member 12 has a horizontal bottom wall 12a and an upwardly extending side wall 12b and downwardly extending side 120. The drawer is open on the side opposite to the side 12b so that the interior of the drawer is readily accessible from the open top as well as from the open side. Partitions 16 are provided and have projections 17 and 18, respectively, fitting in slots 19 in the side 12b and in slots 20 in the member 12. The drawer opens in a longitudinal direction normal to the rear and front walls and parallel to the side wall.

Referring to FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 the casing comprises a U-shaped sheet steel member 23 forming the sides 24, 25 and top 26 of the casing. The bottom of the casing is open and has two U-shaped beams or support members 27, 28 at the front and rear of the casing extending between the sides 24 and 25 and attached thereto by welding to the flanges 24a and 25a. The sheet steel back member 30 3,433,548 Patented Mar. 18, 1969 closes the casing at the rear. The sides 24 and 25 are reinforced by the front supports 38a and 38b and the midsupports 29a and 29b. The sides 24 and 25 have U-shaped flanges 24b and 25b which fit around the supports 38a and 38b. The top member 26 is reinforced at the front by the cross beam 38 extending between the supports 38a and 38b. The cross beam has a flange 380. Above the support beam 28 the top 26 has an L-shaped strip 33 extending laterally to the casing. The flange 38c and strip 33 are used for interlocking casings as later described herein.

The runners or rails 31 and 32 (FIG. 4) extend longitudinally on each side of the casing and are attached to and supported by the cross beams 27 and 28. An extension slide drawer suspension means 40 generally of the conventional type comprises two longitudinally extending support members 41, 42 connected at the front and rear by beams 43, 44. The support members 41 and 42 are identical and are channel-shaped with upper flanges 41a, and 42a, respectively, and lower flanges 41b and 42b. Intermediate the sides 41c and 420 are the intermediate flanges 41d and 42d. The support members are in facing relation. Rollers 45 and 46 are rotatably mounted in the lower portions of the side 41c and 420, respectively, at the front end of the extension slide. Intermediate the extension slide rollers 47, 48 are rotatably mounted in the lower portions of the sides 41c and 420 and a second pair of small rollers 49 and 50 are mounted on the upper portions of the sides 41c and 42c, respectively, in spaced relation to rollers 47, 48 to receive flanges b, 56b. At the rear of the slide a fourth pair of rollers 51, 52 are rotatably mounted in the lower portions of the sides 41c, 420 to engage the undersurface of the flanges 31a, 32a on the rails 31, 32. The runners have tabs 41c and 42:: extending downwardly to travel in the longitudinal notch 31b, 32b of the rails.

The drawer has two generally S-shaped longitudinal members 55 and 56 with an upper flange 55a and 56a attached to the bottom wall 12a and oppositely extending flanges 55b and 56b fitting between the rollers 47, 49 and 48 and 50. The bottom member is reinforced by the lateral channel members 57 and 58 extending between the members 55 and 56. The upper flanges 57a and 58a are welded to the bottom wall 12:: and the end flanges 57b and 58b of the members 57 and 58 are welded to the members 55 and 56.

The extension slide has pivotally mounted catches 60 and 61 rotatably mounted on the lower portions of the sides 41c and 42c and engaging stops 62 and 63, respectively, to hold the catches 60 in position to engage the lower flange 58d of the channel member 58 for preventing the unintentional removal of the drawer from the cabinet. A stop member 65 is mounted on the channel member 58 and the bottom wall 12a at the rear of the drawer to engage the L-shaped beam 44.

The front member or wall 15 of the drawer is made in the usual manner and has an exterior piece forming the front of the drawer with interiorly bent flanges for fastening the front piece to an inner piece 71. The member 72 forms the inwardly facing panel of the front member 15. A handle 73 is attached to the member 15 along with a latch mechanism 74. A U-shaped piece 75 is mounted on the front member 15 below the bottom member 12a for receiving a lock 76. The retractable catch 77 fits in the slot 78 in the beam 27.

The filing unit is formed in single drawer modules and may be stacked in fastened relation by bolts 80 and 81. The bolt 81 extends through the L-shaped piece 33 at the rear of the cabinet and the beam 28, and the bolt 80 extends through the flange 38c and the beam 27. The bolts are secured in position by the nuts 82 and 83.

In FIG. 6 a modified drawer 84 is shown in which a bar 85 extends between the front member 15 and rear member 14 on the open side of the drawer to provide a support for hanging folders 87 as illustrated.

Various modifications may be made in the foregoing embodiments Without departing from the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A filing cabinet comprising a casing having support members, drawer suspension means mounted on said support members, a drawer mounted on said suspension means for reciprocally moving said drawer in and out of said casing in a longitudinal direction, characterized by said drawer having front and rear walls normal to the longitudinal direction of movement, a longitudinally extending member having a generally transverse cross sectional L shape with an upwardly and longitudinally extending side wall and a bottom wall, a filing space formed by said upwardly extending side wall, bottom wall, rear wall, and front wall with an opening extending the length and height of said side wall on the side of said drawer opposite to said upwardly and longitudinally extending side Wall for access to said filing space from the top and side.

2. A filing cabinet comprising a casing having support members, drawer suspension means mounted on said support members, a drawer mounted on said suspension means for reciprocally moving said drawer in and out of said casing in a longitudinal direction, characterized by said drawer having front and rear walls normal to the longitudinal direction of movement, a longitudinally extending member having a generally transverse cross sectional Z shape with an upwardly and longitudinally extending side wall, a bottom wall and a side wall extending downwardly from said bottom wall on the side opposite to said upwardly extending wall, a filing space formed by said upwardly extending side wall, bottom wall, rear wall and front wall with an opening extending the length and height of said side wall on the side of said drawer opposite to said upwardly and longitudinally extending side wall for access to said filing space from the top and side, with said downwardly extending side wall isolating said drawer suspension means from inserted and removed files.

3. A filing cabinet as set forth in claim 1 wherein first and second side walls extend downwardly from said bottom wall on opposite sides of said drawer to enclose said suspension means on each side.

4. A filing cabinet as set forth in claim 2 wherein a second wall extends downwardly from said bottom wall on the opposite side to said first downwardly extending wall enclosing said suspension means.

5. A filing cabinet as set forth in claim 2 wherein a bar extends between upper edges of said front and rear walls on the opposite side of said drawer from said upwardly extending side wall.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,074,371 3/1937 Cummings et a1 312337 2,460,923 2/ 1949 Christopherson 312-337 2,981,584 4/1961 Friend 312337 3,112,967 12/1963 Hood 312184 3,160,282 12/1964 Gunn 211-184 3,203,748 8/1965 Toms 31229O X 3,269,558 8/1966 Hess 211-484 CASMER A. NUNBERG, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 312-289, 330 

